Laos: What it is and What it isn't

I have been to Laos or at least I thought so. Last year I went for a couple of weeks on my 'Asia Tour', and really wanted to go back this time, enjoy myself and capture some photos.

I see Laos now, as a two sided coin, and will attempt to explain this in the following.

The Laotian people could not be nicer. They are with it in Ventiene - the capital city where french influences are everywhere and they aren't trying to hide it. It was funny to hear my one friend exclaim how "clean and developed" Lao was. This of course is a false impression that the capital gives you. In reality Lao, the most bombed country in the world, is far from developed: Rural communities and tourist communities.

I had remembered this great hotel called the Don Chan. It is the biggest and most expensive in all of Laos and we spent the first night there. Some guidebooks refer to it as the 'eye sore' of Laos. When we left we were bowing down to its greatness agreeing to worship Don Chan as our God.

I managed to take some interesting rural shots. A 5 year old girl holding a 1 year old baby on her back, 100 construction workers working at once, a woman burning her crops, and a father net fishing in a puddle - mud-covered children watching.

Vang Vieng is a young tourist trap- Restaurants and Bars. This spot attacks the filth - young people looking to consume as much 'beerlao' as possible, order drugs like opium, mushrooms and hash off a menu, and party.

Beerlao runs the country. This beer costs 1 dollar for a giant bottle.

The main attraction in Vang Vieng is the river tubing. Bars line the shore, and young people get completely wasted as they float down the river. Everyone writes ridiculous things on their body like, "Malaria pills cured my syphilis" or "Cocaine is a helluva drug". Each bar along the way has a catch. One has a zipline, another has a rope swing, another a waterslide. At night people go to 'smile bar' or 'joker bar' or 'bucket bar' to name a few. They have open campfires going and the atmosphere is great.

Laos can be a party spot, but that is not Laos. A party has been created: a complete tourism dependent economy. Laos is people bathing alongside the road, women washing clothes in the river, small stalls selling food, bicycles and motorbikes, humble people, temples and dusty roads.

White tourists say hello to grandma washing as they float by 'smashed' on their tubes. It's fun, but it isn't Laos. The importance is that we realize this.